Friday Fun Fact: Introducing Wherever It Goes

 Happy Friday! 

Welcome to our second installment of Fun Fact Friday. Last week we discussed, on my Facebook page, how Along the Way was first published in 2014, as well as my very technical "What if" writing process.

Today, we will get to know Wherever It Goes. 

The story of Along the Way came into creation circa 2001, and wound up being over 500 pages by the time I was finished. Life then happened and I didn't do anything much with the manuscript until many years later. It wasn't until sometime in 2013/early 2014 that I realized a 500+ page book was a hefty chunk of paper and would be intimidating to a reader who was learning a new author. Would you buy a 500+ page book from an unknown author? 

Probably not. But you'd get a great arm workout while reading it. 💪 

So, I split the story and went ahead with publishing the first half. 

Of course, splitting a book comes with consequences, especially if you're now left with a newly created series you hadn't intended on having. To me, each book needs to be able to stand alone, to some degree, in case someone happens to find that book before the others. Over three years later in, 2017, I was finally ready to publish Wherever It Goes as a paperback book on that same independent self-publishing website. However, with life, babies, and mainly just life, I still didn't have the time, or energy, to promote the books with the world. Plus, there is a lot of soul searching that goes into sharing anything that you created with the world, and I realized that I honestly wasn't ready to share them just yet. So, that was where they sat until this year.

I don't want to give away too much of the story of the Cedar Grove saga, for those who haven't read the series, so I'll just say that Wherever It Goes was difficult to turn into its own novel, simply because I didn't want to take anything away from the first half. The characters that you get to know in the second half brought a different energy to the story. 

But it was a risk that was worth taking and I did have that perfect transition.

I enjoyed the nature of all of the characters, how they all interacted, and the overall wholeness that Wherever It Goes brought the entire story. Some aspects of Wherever It Goes surprised me, even as I wrote it, but as I've said before, I do write from the question of "What if?" and sometimes my characters and situations almost write themselves. As with most of my books, I never intend for a story to go the way it goes. It just happens.  

Just like life, it seems to have gone the way it was supposed to go. 

For those technical people out there who say, "But Em, two books don't make a series!" I would have to agree. Cedar Grove has some interesting characters in its midst. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see a third book in the series pop up in the future, with someone else taking the role of lead character. 

Thanks for stopping by! Always remember to let me know you were here, if you enjoyed it, and all that fun interactive stuff. Enjoy the rest of your day and have a great weekend!

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Have you read Along the Way? Or Wherever It Goes? Have questions, comments, concerns about misplaced punctuation, or just burning curiosity about something in the story? Leave a comment, send me a message -- I'm easy to reach.  Like it👍, Love it💖, and Share💃!

Buy Wherever It Goes on Amazon